Seals are generally employed to prevent ingress of contamination and debris into spaces between moving parts of various machines and vehicles (e.g., rough terrain vehicles, mining vehicles, military vanishes and heavy haul vehicles). For example, seals are employed to prevent the ingress of debris into a space between an inner member and an outer member of a bearing in which the inner member and/or outer member rotate and/or misalign relative to one another. One type of bearing is a spherical plain bearing that typically includes a ball positioned for rotational movement in an outer race. The ball defines an outer surface, and the outer race defines an inner surface contoured to receive and retain the ball therein such that the outer surface of the ball is in sliding engagement with the inner surface of the outer race. Contamination of the sliding engagement surfaces, namely, the outer surface of the ball and the inner surface of the outer race, is one of the leading causes of bearing damage. Typically, the spherical plain bearing assembly includes a sealing arrangement on opposing sides thereof, wherein a seal has opposing ends disposed in a groove on each of the ball and the outer race. The seal aides in retaining lubrication between the sliding engagement surfaces and for inhibiting the ingress of dirt, water, particulate matter, and other contaminants to the sliding engagement surfaces.
Some of the above mentioned vehicles employ seals manufactured from an elastomeric material that is flexible to accommodate misalignment of the outer member relative to the inner member. However, such elastomeric seals are prone to damage (e.g., piercing, cutting, tearing, and ripping) from interaction with projectiles or sharp objects. Efforts to prevent such damage to the seals include the use of ridged plastic or metallic caps that cover the seal. However, the caps constitute an additional part that takes up space to install in configurations where clearances are rather tight or surfaces for securing the caps to are small. Thus, in some instances there is insufficient clearance or surface area for installation of such caps.
Based on the foregoing, there is a need for protecting seals from damage caused by interaction with projectiles or sharp objects.